The number of legally owned guns in Teesside is among the lowest in the country, figures have revealed.

As of March 2015, there were 1,099 firearms certificates held in the area - the second lowest number in the country.

And government statistics also showed that, among all forces in the country, firearms licences were most likely to be turned down or revoked by Cleveland Police.

Firearm and shotgun certificates can be revoked if the chief police officer for the force is concerned the owner can no longer be entrusted with the guns.

One in 14 firearms licence applications was refused in the Teesside area last year, the most in England and Wales - and the highest rate since 1990.

Cleveland Police also refused one in 12 new shotgun licences.

Temporary Chief Inspector Mick Robson of Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit said a review was carried out on all 3,000 licences in late 2013.

“The result was, we took a robust stance on who should hold licences and who should not, a number were revoked and a number refused,” he said.

“The public should be reassured by the stance taken by the force.

“Once a member of the public is granted a licence, they need to apply to renew the licence every five years when further security checks are carried out.

“All licence holders are subject to ongoing review should they be involved in an incident or be convicted of an offence and that review may see the revocation of their licence in certain circumstances.”

The number of firearms in the UK decreased in 1998 which corresponded with the tightening of gun control through the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997, which was prompted by the Dunblane massacre.

But since then there has been an upward trend.

This year, Cornwall and Devon had the highest number of legally owned guns in the country at 10,855.